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"They have come--you're safe now, thank God!"

"We're all safe, thanks to you," she answered hi eyes; and as he threw his empty revolver aside she held out both her hands to him and he clasped them joyfully

"They have come--and so soon! I never dared to hope they would be here before to-night at earliest!"

"Nor I--but they are here!" He released her hands and turned to greet the rest of the little garrison, who, having heard the cla in to hear the story of the night's encounter

At the same moment a fierce hubbub arose in the courtyard as the Bedouins realized that they were verily in a trap Sonified haste, ed to scraood their escape, for the tih they fought nificently, as was their wont, they realized only too soon that they were outnuht was over

Just as the rising sun flooded the desert with superb pink brilliance the whole party, rescuers and besieged, met in the courtyard

Both Anstice and Garnett had been in the thick of the last affray; and the soldier as apparently in co-space to congratulate the defenders on the splendid defiance they had offered to their foes

"We heard the row quite a long way off," he said, "and hurried for all orth, thinking we'd be too late if we didn't hustle But froht have taken it easy"

"Good job for us you didn't," returned Anstice rather griot down to our last round--another five minutes and we'd have been wiped out"

"Whew!" The other man whistled "Pretty close call, what? Lucky for you we did hustle, I see"

"Yes--but can you explain how it is you're here so soon? We hadn't dared to look for you till to-night or to-"

"Oh, that's easily explained We fell in with your er--Sir Richard Wayne, isn't it?--on our way back to Cairo We were returning from a little punitive expedition"--he slad to set out on another jaunt We get fed-up lounging about barracks, and these affairs come as quite a God-send in the wilderness"